


Midnight Oil

by helsinkibaby



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Het, Reunions, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-14
Updated: 2018-03-14
Packaged: 2019-03-31 11:03:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13973700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: Penelope is working late when she gets a visitor.





	Midnight Oil

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [unspooling rapidly](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13809852) by [helsinkibaby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby). 



> For everyone who asked for more after "Unspooling Rapidly"

It’s very late at night and Garcia knows that everyone else on the team has gone home. Well, except for Emily, who’s the only other person who burns the midnight oil as much as Garcia does. Their reasons, however, are wildly different. Emily work late because she has paperwork to catch up on and she knows it has to be triple perfect because so many of the FBI higher-ups seem to have it in for their team. 

Garcia works late because when she’s at work, her mind is occupied. When she gets home, when she lies down in a bed that’s far too big for one, all she can think of is how much she misses Luke. 

That’s not exactly true though. Over the last five months that he’s been undercover - and she could pinpoint it to weeks and days without thinking too hard - she’s imagined all kinds of scenarios involving him. Scenarios that see him hurt or bleeding or worse, scenarios that leave tears burning in her eyes and her chest tight with terror. 

Even now, her thoughts take a turn in that direction and she squeezes her eyes shut in a bid to get rid of them. She thinks of puppies and kittens and the latest videos of Hank Morgan and it’s almost enough to make her smile. Almost, because she can’t remember the last time she truly did. 

Behind her, she hears the door handle turn and she pinches the bridge of her nose. The last thing she wants is for anyone to see her like this. “Just a second, Emily,” she says without looking around, bringing her hands to her keyboard and trying to look busy. 

“It’s not Emily.” 

She freezes. 

Literally. 

Her fingers seize and her body goes stiff all over as her heart seems to come to a lurching stop before jolting back into triple time. Her breath catches in her throat and she stands ever so slowly, afraid to turn around just in case she’s dreaming, just in case the months and weeks and days of missing him have finally worn her down, have her imagining his voice. 

But then she turns around and he’s really there. Luke Alvez is standing in her office, door closed firmly behind him, his hair longer and more riotously curly than she’s ever seen it, his lips slightly apart, his eyes wide and hungry and staring at her like she’s the best thing he’s ever seen. 

She doesn’t know how long they stare at one another but then he nods, just once, the movement stiff and jerky. 

“It’s me, Penelope,” he says, his voice rough and worn and tired and she can’t help the sob that tears from her throat. 

The next thing she knows, she’s holding him. Her arms are wrapped around his neck, while one of his hands cups the back of her head, the other splayed wide on her back. His face is buried in her neck and she can feel him trembling, wonders if he’s crying just like she is. Pulling back, she cups his face in her hands, finds that he is and she wipes the tears away, familiarises herself with the plains of his face at the same time. He’s more gaunt than she remembers and there are lines there that were never there before but she doesn’t care about that, not when he’s standing right in front of her. 

“You're really here?” Her voice, even to her own ears, is high pitched and shaky and he nods as he says the words she’s waiting months to hear. 

“I’m home, Penelope.” 

Her breath catches again and she knows her eyes are wide, knows her smile is too. “Really?” 

“Really.” The hand that’s on her back slides lower, touches the small of her back and continues on. “I promised you I’d come back to you, Penelope... and I swear... I’ll never leave you again.” 

That’s good for another sob and she wants to tell him that he’d better not, that she would never let him, but he kisses her instead and suddenly talking is incredibly over-rated.


End file.
